Black with a chance of Golden
by XxxCherikxxX
Summary: Ever wondered why Pitch hated the Man in moon so much? Why his fearlings take the form of mares? Why didn't he want the guardians to see him in throats of his own nightmares? So much memory in a tooth, but only one person can put the pieces together for Jack. (Back after long hiatus, so please note that I'm starting from the basics. Strongly M rated in later chapters!)
1. Beginnings

Hello Everyone! After seeming dead for almost (or more?) than two years, I'm back. Or at least I hope I am. This movie gave me back my inspiration, and I'm already madly in love with a few pairings. But this one will be my absolute favourite.

I'm very out of practice so please, bear with my in the beginning. (Meaning my grammar, my terrible style and everything. I need a little time to get in the game again.) Though I hope you'll still enjoy it. Please go on and leave a comment for me if you want to. That will help me a lot ;)

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Jack mindlessly reached down for the single, pure white tooth and put it in the pocket of his blue hoodie. It could have laid there forever on, forgotten, beside his own set of teeth, beside his own memories, had it not been for North.

After the celebration at the Pole, North lead him to a room.

"I thought... you might want to stay for a day or two" he said, smiling. "After all, Christmas can never be perfect without snow and frost."

Jack felt something so very new. Surrounded by all these creatures of dreams and hopes, in -front of a room that was supposed to be his. It almost felt like home.

"Thank you, I'm grateful."

North put a hand on his shoulder and in his eyes there was something strange. His own memories took a toll on him.

"Way back, even before I was chosen to be Santa Clause I had a family, you know. My wife was the most beautiful women in all the lands and we had a son..." it was unbelievable to see the always jolly man so carried away in the past. Jack didn't say a word, he wanted to listen. The elves, for once understood that this was not a moment for games and they scooped off. "Every year, at Christmas, we went out to the woods. Brought the biggest one back and decorated it with candles. Tania would make small cookies for our whole town and..."

Jack couldn't miss the tear running down from North's eye. He put his hand on the old man's to gasp it.

"What happened?" he asked quietly.

"My son, he got sick. First it was just some cramps in his legs. Then they went numb, right to the point when he couldn't stand. I build a sledge for him, to get around. But we couldn't slow the process. One morning we woke up to find him, laying all so peacefully. He was gone."  
Silence surrounded them. Jack couldn't even imagine how someone who had to endure such awful events could stand before him today and still be the symbol of joy, love and happiness.

North collected himself and pulled his hand away.

"I hope you don't take this as the babbling, reminiscing of and old man" once again, that brightness lit up his eyes. "I meant to tell you two things by this. One is, that you remind me so much of my boy."

Suddenly Jack felt a certain warmth wash over him. Could it be that the guardians actually accepted him so much that he was not only one of them now, but North just compares him to his own son? Belonging somewhere felt like his most cherished wish just came true.

"I... thank you..." he mumbled. Too much was on his mind and non of it seemed to cever what he actually meant to say.

"That's why I'd be honored if you considered staying here" North continued slowly. "I don't expect you to keep the deadlines you detest so fiercely."

Jack let out a laugh, remembering his first accusations towards the guardians. Way back when he wasn't one of them.

"But sometimes, when there is just too warm for your icy games."

"North I... I'd love that" Jack smiled genuinely.

The old man let out a huge unrestrained laugh and draped an arm around the boy. He hoped Jack would decide to stay.

"From now on, this will be your room. If you need anything just call the elves. If you need anything and you actually want to get it on time call the Yeties" North winked and opened the door in front of them. "But please do call on the elves sometimes. They can feel so devastated when they feel that they are not needed."

Jack made a silent promise with a nod.

"Thank you for everything."

Before he could say another word North pushed him into the room.

The sight left him absolutely breathless. Ice all around. The table – strangely familiar to North working table – was made out of ice, the shelves, the chairs, the cabinets, even the bed. Looked like heaven for Jack.

Strangely it looked like someone couldn't decide if they wanted to grow up yet. Toys glistening in corners made such a contrast to the more serious books on the bookshelf. After all, who would want to play with an airplane while reading Faust? Certainly only Jack Frost. And maybe North.

"I hope you like it, but feel free to change anything."

"It's perfect" Jack's eyes lit up as he raised one of the rubber duck. "I have everything here."

"Great, I have to admit I had way too much fun arranging it. That kite over there in the corner... Flies amazing in good wind."  
His program for tomorrow was settled than, it was settled for the rest of the week in fact. All the games he could think about would fill Jack's mind.

"And Jack" North alerted him gently before he got too carried away in his thought of fun. "The other thing I was meant to say was that you can never know a man, before you know his past."

Within a second he was gone in the blink of an eye. Jack just stood there, dumbstruck, motionless, with the kite in his hand.

What could he mean by that? He already knew about his past. He already found his center, just like all other guardians. What else was there to be discovered?

Could it be that North meant someone else's past?

All of the sudden the single tooth laying in his pocket became painfully heavy. Jack had to know.


	2. Chapter 1

Hello once again! Thank you for everyone who has started to read, it makes me really happy to see some people are interested. Also I'd like to react to my very first comment by a visitor. Actually it kinda made me happy that you are a bit frightened of where this is ging :D Even if you meant it a in a negative way, You still managed to make me interested in surprising you as best as I can. Also I'd like to show you a link to the video that actually showed me that there are people interested in this couple so I should try to write it. There you go (It's seriously amazing!): watch?v=D3yHWk3R06Q

I've also made a video to be a more me-like inspiration :P Just search for "Pitch Black x Rapunsel" by LHolly1993 ;)

Here is Chapter 1 (the previous one was an intro). I hope you'll like it!

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Chapter 1

Jack was running. The dark tunnels that he knew were leading to Pitch's location seemed endless like a maze. Sure, last time he got here Pitch helped him through it and he didn't even notice all the small tunnels that sprung off to every single direction possible. The Nightmare King's home was huge as hell.

He passed several chambers. Many which use was obvious like the hall with all the cages riled on the ceiling and even more with mysterious functions. Like the one with the black walls and a single chair put in the middle, chains hanging down. Jack didn't want to know what use of that Pitch could have.

In the dark he couldn't estimate the time, the directions or anything for that matter. He could have been running for hours when he finally heard a sound. One teeny-tiny Night-Mare jumped out in front of him and stood on both his hind legs to try to intimidate him. It might have worked if he was his usual size. But a 6 inch tall horse could be called anything but intimidating.

"Where is your master?" Jack bent down. The mare seemed surprised. Quite possibly no one has ever talked to them except for Pitch. She obviously had no idea what to do with this white haired boy in front of her.

After some trotting and whining she darted towards one of the tunnels and disappeared in the shadows. Jack desperately tried to catch up with her, but soon the mare was gone. The boy collapsed against the wall and buried his hand in his face. All the memories that he had seen came back to him. Jack felt ashamed for looking at them but the urge had been too much to resist.

_Pitch was standing on the very edge of a meadow. The tower in the middle seemed so tall that it looked impossible to be lived in, still he could hear some faint words._

_It was right before nightfall so he had some time to spare and amuse himself until the nightmares began all around the World. Pitch's shadow creeped towards the window and..._

When Jack tried to collect the memories from the tooth he had to face difficulties. They weren't in order, sometimes it was all blurry or even so quick paced that he couldn't possible understand what was going on.

_"Why can't I go outside?" the voice belonged to a small, blond girl. A woman, possibly her mother was combing through her hair._

_"The outside World is a dangerous place, filled whit horrible, selfish people" answered the woman calmly. Jack could spot the Nightmare King looking into the room. He seemed utterly bored. Then it all fade again..._

Jack almost tore his hair out. The memory flood was out of control. _A cave, somewhere near water, if he could guess by the sounds. _Reality washed together with the foreign images and he couldn't distinguish them. _Golden hair covering two bodies, one exceptionally pale and the other curled up around the first. Pale, spider like hand running down the girl's spine._

"Jack Frost?"

_"Please don't, please don't go!" the girl cried, her hair so much shorter before and now a warm chesnut brown. "You can't leave me here!"_

_"Don't you understand?! I don't have a choice!" Pitch grabbed her hands and pulled her so close to him as if he wanted to absorb her whole. "I'm doing this for us!"_

_"Please..."_

"Damn you, boy!" the Nightmare King howled and grabbed Jack by his sweatshirt. "Get out of my memories now!"

If Jack had any sensibility left in him, he would have began to fear for his life. The maniac glint in Pitch's eyes meant nothing else but death and revenge. Those were his private memories and not a single soul in the Universe had any right to them. That's why he hide his own set of childhood teeth after he stole everything from Tooth.

On the other hand, adult teeth were a completely different matter. They were supposed to stay inside the person's mouth, with all the possessed memories. That's why Tooth tried to stop Jack when he was so keen on recovering Pitch's.

_"They are... much more complicated" she tried to explain but to no avail. The guardian of fun was persistent. "They contain all the memories but only in pieces. If you try to see the memories of one single tooth you'll get a huge mass of pictures, feelings, senses. You can only see the whole if you put them all together. It's dangerous Jack!"_

_The boy only turned the tooth in his hand. He still couldn't believe that the pure, white bone belonged to that man. It should have been black and rotten, or at least turning into that awful ebony sand._

_"What's the worst that can happen to me?"_

_Tooth looked at her fairies, all of them seemed worked up._

_"It'll be like a toothache..." Tooth said silently. "Stating slowly, but never going away until it's been looked after. You won't be able to get out. Not without the person whose memories you are lost in."_

_Jack nodded and without even saying anything, jumped off the palace room. The Wind was already by his side to carry him away._

Pitch shook the teen in his hands but it had no effect. Jack was already too lost to come back without help. For a second he wanted to let Frost rot in there, to be held captive inside those images. And then remembered. He never wanted to share _her_ with anyone.

Pitch let the body collapse on the floor and kneeled beside him. Gathering all his remaining power, he laid one hand on Jack's head and concentrated.

His sand immediately appeared above the spirit's eyes, forming the, oh so familiar silhouettes. A small girl, playing around a tall shadow's legs. An older woman, some nightling hounds absent mindedly wandering. Suddenly they rammed into each other forming a huge, dark head. The monstrous face opened it's mouth, showing thousands of sharp teeth. Then it evaporated in thin air, only to give space for one last image. Pitch kneeling motionless.

The real Nightmare King knew it was finally over. It'd only take a few seconds for the boy to come around so he had to move as fast as he could in his state. Quickly he searched the pocket of the blue sweatshirt and found his tooth. The second he raised it to the level of his eyes, two blue orbs opened.

Jack didn't even have time to gasp.

"Have a nice nightmare, Frost" Pitch said slowly and knocked him out with one single hit.

He had to admit that it felt nice, even though his hand hurt like hell afterwards. Fair price for hitting a guardian.


	3. Chapter 2

I'm on such a roll. I just can't stop writing. And I'm loving this feeling again :) Answering your question, dear visitor: Sure there will be much more :)  
Oh I've created a very new background story for Pitch (the original books are not available in my country so I can only base evverything on the movie.) I hope you don't mind.  
Read on, nothing belongs to me.

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Chapter 2

"Oh my head..."

These were the first understandable syllables that left Jack's mouth as he slowly raised his head. Even this small movement made him dizzy.

"That hay stick still has some power to him" he cursed and for the first time since he has arrived he actually began to think about those small little consequences that _might_ come with his visit.

One of them being the fact that he was tied up. Against a wall.

"Morning Frostie. Had a nice sleep?"

Alright, maybe he was in a bit more trouble than he thought. Before coming he expected the Nightmare King to be a faded spirit and unable to do anything. Well, even though he wasn't in his best form he was apparently still well enough to knock him out, tie him up and mock him.

As he looked around he noticed two important things. First, they were in a room. Not the huge hall where he had previously been. This place was considerably smaller and a bit more like an actually used room.

A chair, a long table, some dark cabinets, metal rings nailed to the walls. It was the chamber he passed on his way to the depth of this dark maze.

"You have a torture chamber" Jack stated half-panicking.

Pitch didn't answer him just stared. Jack could see that he was even thinner and his usually dark grayish skin now seemed almost white. Finally some signs that the King was no more than a shadow of his former self. Another indicator of Pitch's weakness was the fact that this time it wasn't some ebony shadow that kept him to the wall but actual, rusty chains.

"Why do you have a torture chamber?" he asked.

"For fun. Reminiscing about good old times, you know" Pitch answered quietly. "Now hush, Frost. I have to decide what to do with you. This is quite an unexpected turn of events."

"What?" Jack was actually surprised. "You mean... you were trying to take over the whole Earth and you didn't have a plan for what to do with us?"

"I did have a plan for you" the Nightmare King rose from his seat giving Jack the opportunity to notice that he couldn't really walk without leaning on something. Any sign of Pitch's weakness gave him a little hope. "But right now I am not... equipped to... do that."

The word "defeated" ran through Jack's mind. His situation was brighter and brighter with every passing second. If only he had any idea where Pitch could have put his staff.

"How do you... I mean how are you still..."

"How am I still alive?" bitterness flew with every word. "You and your darling little guardians can do whatever you want, but there will always be some fear. Children all around the World are at the dentist' waiting for torments. Some of the are chased by dogs right now and I many are watching their parents argue with such fear in their hearts. Fear that it might be their fault. And you can never stop that."

Jack swallowed. Pitch was right. He believed North when he said that they'd always be there, but he didn't think about these fears. These inevitable fears.

"Naturally these are not enough for me to possess all the power I had only days ago. But it's coming back, Jack. And you will be the first to hear from me when I'll finally have all my strength back."

The actually joyful grin that lit up Pitch's face scared Jack. So he was indeed immortal. He needed a plan and quickly.

"So what will you do with me?" if only he could get the older spirit to boast a little so he could find a loophole in the plan.

Pitch was having none of that.

"You'll see in time, Jack. Don't be so impatient."

Jack sighed and lowered his head. Minutes flew by as Pitch calculated all the possible outcomes and the Guardian of Fun tried to freeze off his chains to no avail. They were old but though pieces. He simply couldn't escape them. There was a desperate need for yet another backup plan.

"Who was that girl?"

The second the sentence left his mouth, Jack knew that there would be at least two good consequences and one lethal. The question did stop Pitch in his motion, momentary making him forget his revenge plans. It also made him more furious than ever before.

"Don't dare you mention her!" the older spirit hissed as he turned towards Jack. "You were supposed to forget that."

Jack felt a little ashamed. He did went too far when he watched those memories. Evil or not, Pitch still had right to his privacy.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have. I was just... curious about you."

"And why is that?" Pitch walked back to his chair. His exhaustion was painfully obvious as he collapsed right down onto it.

"North told me something that made me curious of how you could have become anything like this. He sounded like he knew and... I just thought that maybe..."

"Maybe what, Frost?" Pitch snapped. "Maybe I'd have you over for tea and tell you a fairy tale of how under bad circumstances I became the big bad guy?"

His cruel snapping made the icy spirit cringe. He was hoping for something like this. A simple reason why would someone become so keen on destroying children's happiness. Why would the Man in moon chose someone like him to come back to the Earth? What could his purpose be?

"I just want to know! Why is that so bad?"

"Because it's my bloody business, Frost!" Pitch was more and more upset by every second.

"You were the one to offer me your companionship because you were lonely" Jack reminded him heatedly. "Why else would you have done that if not to have someone to talk to? To share with?"

"Has it not occurred to you that I was trying to trick you into trusting me?"

"Don't try that, Pitch. You are way too evil to be able to fake such sincerity."

Silence followed. Jack was afraid that he went too far this time. But much to his surprise Pitch's shoulders began to shake first then a huge laughter erupted from his mouth. As much as it was blood curling, the guardian of fun could easily feel that it was a genuine.

As the Nightmare King collected himself and restrained his snickering, once again he turned his face toward Jack's.

"So what? What if I actually wanted to talk to someone else than the walls of my home?"

"I didn't say that there was anything wrong with that" Jack answered quietly. "That little moment just gave away that you actually... You actually feel loneliness."

"Why is that so surprising? I am just like you, all of you. Except that your disgustingly cheerful cores won't let you do anything but be oh so gruesomely jolly. On the other hand, I got a core which affects me just as much as yours do, but it makes me hungry for fear and hatred. There is nothing more behind this story."

"There must be! Why else would have Manny chosen you to return to the Earth?" Jack stated the question that bugged him the most.

"Chosen?" pitch laughed and his eyes bored into Jack's. "You think I was chosen by him?"

"We all were..." the spirit said but his voice faded slowly. "I mean... all of us were... North, Bunny, Tooth..."

Pitch moved his head, a smile playing on his thin lips. One grayish hand that laid on the table clenched.

"Yes, you were chosen" he said slowly, almost like he was carefully scolding a little child for not knowing how to add one plus one. "But _Manny_, as you called him, and I weren't."

The guardian of fun looked puzzled. What was Pitch implying?

"Dante and I were created so many years before you all even existed" his voice vibrated so low, it almost sounded tender. "Mother Nature created us before humans began to walk this planet. My brother and I were supposed to bring balance to all creatures. But, naturally we had our differences, so did our powers and purposes. I got to stay on the surface of the Earth, having closer relation with all it's organisms while Dante was chained to the moon. Always having to keep an eye on the whole picture. This comes with his ability to choose certain spirits to... keep thing under control, as he sees fit."

The younger spirit could only stare. His expression blank. This surely couldn't be. He was sure that Pitch was one of the oldest of them but he still wouldn't have imagined him as an equal to Man in Moon.

"You are brothers?" he repeated.

"I suppose that's the closest you can call our... relation" Pitch nodded. "Not that we are practically found of each other."

"Why?"

A strange expression crossed the Nightmare King's face. Inside he was debating if he should let Jack in on this story. Not unless he could win something out of the situation.

A plan began to form in his mind.

"Let's make a deal, Frost. I'll ease your curiosity, in return you'll do me one little favor."

Jack didn't like the sound of it.

"I'll tell you my story" Pitch smiled darkly. "After I'm finished you'll find yourself at a crossroad."

The tension only rose between them as the words sunk in.

"Afterwards you'll let me roam around freely, until I regain everything I had. And if one of your guardians try to stop me, well you know what happens when a spirit makes an oath and doesn't keep it, don't you?"

"Not really."

"Oh this is more fun than I imagined" he chuckled lightly. "Well, if you don't keep your word, you'll simply disappear. Like you've never existed at all. No more fun, no more winter, no more snow days for the kids."

Jack swallowed. He didn't want that. The thought of no more fun existing terrified him. But he knew that all the other guardians would never agree to letting Pitch roaming around the World, without any supervisions.

"What would my other option be?"

"Or you can create the biggest blizzard you've ever had" the words sounded like a sensual purr. "Not just a few inches of snow, or a little cold wind. I want avalanches absorbing people in the mountains and icy roads so that not a single car can even stay on the road. I want power chords breaking, water pipes freezing, hunger and fear. Fear of freezing to death and fear of losing loved ones in the dark and cold nights."

Jack's eyes widened. He would never agree to that.

"No way!" he strained against his restrains. "Never, Pitch! I'm not gonna kill people just so you can have some fun. Just let me go, then. I don't care about anything you have to say."

Golden eyes bore into his eye so deeply as if they could look into his soul.

"Oh naive, little, Jack. Don't you see? You don't really have a choice."

The boy could feel panic tensing in his stomach. His whole insides shuddered. The realization hit so suddenly that he made the mistake of slipping willingly into a nightmare.

"You either listen to the story, just because I feel generous" once again Pitch's voice was almost tender. "Then you decide which option you'd like. Or you watch me leave right now, with that little staff of yours, leaving you to rot here. By the time your guardians find you, they'll be no match for me."

In this second Jack could feel the last ray of hope being swallowed up by Pitch Black's darkness.

"I'm listening" his mouth was almost too dry to speak. Maybe he could find out something while Pitch spoke.

"Very well. Let me quickly tell you how it all began."


	4. Chapter 3

Good day, everyone! Thank you all for the lovely comment, of course there will be more, we have barely started ^^ I should say I'm sorry for the longer wait but this chapter was a major pain in the... elbow. Anyways, here it is. Basically wrote itself, I had no idea it would turn out like this. Well, I hope you'll like it, you can always tel me in the comments ^^ (hint, hint)

There we go, the very beginning of Pitch's story :)

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Chapter 3

Pitch stood up once again and approached the younger spirit. Jack tensed up, even though he knew that he was in no danger thus far. At least if he could believe Pitch. That's exactly where the problem was.

"What are you doing?" he mumbled as the Nightmare King put his hand flat against his forehead.

"Hush now. Did you think I'd sit here and tread my mouth to shreds while telling you this story?" Pitch's nose wrinkled from concentration. "You wanted to see my nightmares, fine. You'll dream them. You can't say I'm not holding up my end of the deal."

In two seconds everything blacked out for Jack. He didn't even feel the as Pitch loosened the chains around his hands. They wouldn't be needed for at least a day, if not more. The nightmare he gave to the boy would last for days to end.

Calmly he walked over to the chair and pulled it across the room. He knew the dreams wouldn't began until he was sound asleep too. Showing memories in such way required his close attention. All the dangers of recovering the images from the tooth dubbed with the boy actually invading the full pictures of his past. He needed a guide, without him Jack's soul would never find his way back to his body.

For a minute Pitch played with the idea of not going after the boy. All he would have had to do was wait for a week and his most annoying enemy would have been wiped off of the face of this Earth. The thought was too tempting. Then again, for centuries, Jack has been the first one to provide him with a little challenge all by himself. The guardians were good enough to restrain him, if they united. On the other hand the youngest member of the group proved to be a worthy opponent all by himself. So Pitch didn't want to miss the possibility of ending him in a much more interesting and entertaining way.

A hint of panic clenched his chest as he sat down and thought about what was ahead of him. He wasn't sure he wanted to see it happen all again. All his faults, all his mistakes. Losing her all again.

One last sigh left his pale lips before he closed his eyes, then he slipped into the darkness that enveloped him like an old friend.

The scene unfolded, like the reflection clears after the surface of a lake calms. The Earth, so young, so untouched by human hands. The yet grayish sky shone with the tentatively poking first rays of sun.

It was the beginning of everything. Life was beginning to root on this planet and once it began growing there was no way of stopping it. This first primal tranquility would soon be interchanged with the sounds of nature expanding and gaining infinite authority over everything in it's reach. Herbal life forms were already established but for the more complex organisms it'd take some more eons to really accommodate.

Pitch and Jack found themselves near a river. Across the side they stood there were numerous little caves in the stone walls. The cracks provided nice homes for the few people living in them.

"They are... they are strange!" Jack cried out surprised. He didn't think they'd come back so far in time.

Although the frost spirit had seen people grow and change since he became an immortal but now he had realized how little they actually differed in under the three hundred years.

These humans were generally shorter and somehow harder. They looked like a very unpracticed artist carved them out of stone. Hard features, small eyes, thick, dark hair. But they were human. Covered in various leather, fur and even some greenery.

Children played around the adults' legs, men carried wood and women nursed the infants. A frightened little village.

It took a few minutes to recognize that a huge shadow that moved in the rocks, in between the people. It was not cast by a tree, and it was way too skinny and tall to belong to one of the prehistorical people. One or two children glanced at it from time to time. The second they did, screaming rose from their throats as they ran to the nearest cave.

"You've been here ever since?" Jack turned to the Pitch he knew and accompanied him.

"Dante and I were created when the Earth was created" Pitch explained and he began to walk towards the water and the village. "We got some time to discover the planet and the universe before all kinds of life-forms inhabited it, then my brother was chained to the moon and I was forced down here. We couldn't leave anymore."

The frost spirit followed the Nightmare King as a shadow.

"Before we had to part, mother Earth took some of my darkness and gave it to Dante, and I got some of his light. Not much, just enough to make my skin gray. I used to be pitch black" he actually seemed to find some comfort in reminiscing. "And that's why you can see that darkish shadow on Dante's face. We needed that to... keep the balance, so to speak."

As quick as the comfort in his voice came, it was gone. Once again indifference and pity showed up on his face as he looked at the young humans. They were almost at the village now.

"How long has it been since you two have been separated?" Jack asked. The story began to interest him, more than he suspected.

"Thousands of years. I can't even remember. The first few centuries were boring. I couldn't really scare plants. Nor could I care much about the first more complex beings. Frightening an alga is … Do I need to say anything about it?" he sighed.

"It must have been really lonely."

Pitch didn't answer, his lips only tightened until they were no more than a thin line.

"It became interesting after these creatures began to walk the Earth."

"But where were the other spirits?" Jack frowned. "You said yourself that Dante possessed the powers to give life back to the worthy. What about the weather? Who controlled spring?"

A new thought took root in his head and for a second he couldn't even imagine how he had not thought about it before.

"Who controlled winter before me?"

Pitch only smirked at his dumb folded expression.

"Now, you are beginning to understand. There were winter before you became the spirit of ice and snow. But it was a natural force. Then you came along, there was something inside of you that was... that made you fit for controlling this force. So Dante gave your life back and there you go, spirit of winter."

This actually sounded logical. Jack was surprised somehow. He possessed his powers for three hundred years now and he was only beginning to understand his abilities and limits. Imagining this huge power going uncontrolled all around the World seemed terrifying.

"Just as there has been winter before you, there was hope, wonder, dreams, but they were all unleashed to roam around" Pitch explained. "So as Dante grew accustomed to his abilities, he began to create small spirits. The first one was a flower fairy, if I recall correctly. She couldn't do much, just hint seeds all over the World. You might have encountered her."

While they were talking – or more like Pitch was speaking and Jack was eagerly listening – the Memory-Pitch left the village and they followed. He seemed to be in no haste, simply reaching from shadow to shadow. Until he found a comfortable spot far enough from the humans not to hear them but still in sight. He sat down in the grass under a big oak tree's shadow. Much to Jack's surprise this Pitch didn't emit that dark aura that the one beside him did.

Memory-Pitch looked up on the sky and actually smiled upon seeing the moon.

"What are you doing?" asked Jack.

"We're talking" his companion answered.

"But North said he never talks, I mean talk... I mean he doesn't really talk" he tried to explain. "He's like Sandy, but worse. Not even pictures, only rays and some faint feeling."

"He used to. Back here he did. It was only after the dark ages that he vowed to be a silent watcher."

"And I suppose there is a reason for that?" Jack said tentatively.

Pitch only nodded as he looked at his former self laughing. Memory-Pitch whistled and a small black hound formed beside him in the shadow.

"Is that a Nightmare?" the sudden new information was a bit too much for the young boy to process.

"Yes, they were like this, in the beginning. Loyal dogs of mine."

"Pitch, what the hell happened to you?" he couldn't counter it anymore. "You were... you scared the people, you gave them nightmares when needed but you... you didn't let them roam freely, did you?"

The shadowy spirit nodded but it was obvious that his mind and thoughts were far away.

He didn't, everything that he had been trusted with has been under control. He gave nightmares when needed, he put fear in the hearts of people when they wandered too close to the edge of cliffs and when they tried to touch fire.

But he wasn't trying to destroy everything. He wasn't trying to rule everything. He was content being hardly seen. His shadow on the rocks could be visible but when he took his true form, people could run through him.

As he let these thought sink in, Pitch could feel the anger boil in him.

"It was his fault!" Pitch snapped suddenly. "I asked him to give me someone to... talk to. I was lonely!"

The younger spirit didn't dare to breath. The air around them tensed.

"All I asked for was someone to share the experiences with" his speech heated to the point where his cheeks darkened. If he had a healthy complexion it would have passed as a blush. "But my _dear_ brother got so caught up in his little games that he didn't even listen to me anymore. _Oh, I'll just do this little thing, then that little thing and then I promise, I'll will care what the heck is going on with you_..."

Suddenly the World around them began to shake. Jack felt his heart thundering in his chest. Everything became distorted, shaky. He tried to stay on his feet but to no avail.

Everything happened so quickly. Though everything was shaking around them, the now faintly visible memory Pitch, didn't seem to notice. The colors, the shapes, all began to change from one second to the other.

Jack felt nauseous. Even though there was an unseen bubble around which protected them, he still couldn't help fearing for his life. It's not a warming experience when you see everything around you falling apart.

"Pitch, what's going on?!" he screamed. "Stop this!"

But the older spirit didn't even hear. It looked like he didn't even notice how everything around them kept darkening and changing.

As soon as he let his anger roam free, it affected his memories around them. The feelings changed everything.

"He condemned me to be all alone, down here while he was having fun with his little games! He was supposed to take care of _me_!" Pitch splat with hatred. "I played the obedient little brother for thousands of years, I sat still and put as he instructed! Sorry, for getting bored!"

"Pitch!" but Jack's voice didn't even reach him.

"It was his fault, not mine! He made me want to experiment with the fearlings! Then he refused to help me when I asked!"

The second these words were out a new image absorbed them. A cave full of huge pitch black wolfs. They looked nothing like the hounds that he had seen previously. They eyes were glowing red and the sounds they emitted made his want to run for his life.

"I told him I couldn't control them all! I..."

The end of the sentence turned into a harsh growl. Bringing Jack along, maintaining the pictures and his outburst too was way too much for his drained powers. He just couldn't continue.

"Pitch!" Jack shouted as he saw the other collapse beside him. He didn't even have the time to feel the terror wash over him before the world around them went black and he disappeared along with it...


	5. Chapter 4

*Hinding* I had finals... I'm sorry...

Okay, so now I'm finished with my first year at University (Yay ^^) and I officially have a job. So now I have time to write and I'm sorry. I promise it won't happen again. Please enjoy this little chapter. The real fun will begin soon :) Have a nice day and leave a comment if you want to ^^

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Chapter 4

Dante felt it, he could always feel it when something happened _down there_. Especially if it involved his brother.

Though Pitch tried everything to inhabit places that he could barely reach, somehow there has always been a crack, a small break where he could shine through and see what he was up to.

He immediately sneaked down to find out why the strange feeling hit him. His rays weren't visible where it was the sun's time right now but he could still feel around. When he could finally feel his brother's presence through the soil Dante dipped down and began to search the tunnels. A silver gloom followed his path.

The sight he found when he finally entered the right room was alarming. His latest guardian stood above his brother's still form. Pitch laid in a very uncomfortable position on the floor, passed out. Jack's bas obviously shaken but at least he stood on his own feet.

Assuming by the boy's mixed feelings he was torn apart on the inside. Dante could feel his confusion and inner war. He wanted to get away as soon as possible, but still he was a guardian. Someone whose job was to protect... Naturally to protect children but once you become responsible for so many people you get the instinct to help even more souls.

Even if it meant Pitch.

"Come on" Jack muttered as he squatted beside Pitch and shook his shoulders. As if he was waiting for him to jump up and attack the frost spirit Jack immediately let go and backed up a little. But nothing happened.

"Hey! Pitch, get up!" this time he was a bit more forceful. "Wake up!"

But nothing happened. The older spirit laid motionless on the floor without any sing of consciousness.

Jack's inner battle was painted on his face. On one hand he could simply leave Pitch there and save himself but then he would risk not finding his staff.

"Pitch! Pitch, come on!" grabbing one sleek leg he tried to pull him a little, only achieving to get him into a little more natural position. "That's it, I so no care!"

Angrily Jack got up and began to walk in circles. There was no way he would wait for the Boogeyman to come around. What kind of idiot would do that? Only to give him another chance to do hell knows what whit him.

"Well, have fun, laying there, Pitch. I'm gonna grab my staff and go."

Dante raised an eyebrow. He knew this icy boy better than anybody else. He knew that there was nothing in him that would allow him to leave, even though he was already on his way out of the room.

The Moon counted... 3... 2... 1...

With a sigh Jack turned back and looked at the unconscious body once again.

"But then again... if I leave you here unattended you could just get up and come after me before I find my staff, right?" already making up excuses, Dante clarified. "It's best if I..."

Helplessly looking around the room he tried to find some way to make sure that he could go search for his staff and also be able to pull Pitch along. His invisible mentor decided that it was time for a little help. A little sliver gleam shone on the surface of the chains that he previously got rid of.

Two minutes later Pitch's hands and ankles were tied together and Jack began to pull the body after him. Thank Gods the older spirit was so skinny. The only sound following them was the soft thuds as the Boogeyman's head hit the floor repeatedly. Even though Frost couldn't bring himself to leave him there, he still couldn't help feeling a bit satisfied upon hearing the sound. He knew that there was no way these little hit's could cause any harm.

Dante watched curiously. He could already sense that his brother was beginning to come back to reality but the process went so slowly that it would still take minutes for him to make an actual sound or movement.

On the way out the small mare, that Jack had seen sooner, joined in to stroll beside the weird pair. She didn't take much interest in Jack, instead she simply put his little head under Pitch's neck from time to time, helping to avoid the bigger rocks and hit. Sometimes when Jack stopped in rooms and halls to look for his staff she simply stood by her owner's head and licked his face with fast darts of her small tongue.

_"Like a loyal puppy"_ Jack wondered. It seemed so impossible for him to observe someone so attached to the Nightmare King.

After half an hour of searching and constant tugging he once again found themselves in the Great Hall with the cages hanging above them. Hopelessly he fall against the closest wall and buried his face in his hands. Pitch was laying only a few inches away in front of him, still motionless.

There was no way he could find his beloved and needed staff in this Labyrinth. Unless Pitch wanted him to find his way out, he would probably be lost forever. He knew the King had the ability to transform any part of his realm as he wished.

"How could I be so stupid?" he moaned. Feeling a little tug at the edge of his hoodie he looked down to find the small nightmare looking up at him. There was nothing intimidating about her now.

"You're not such a little lunatic fella, are you?" Jack smiled as he stroked the back of the horse. "Only when you are ordered, right? That's when you turn into a crazy, intimidating beast."

The mare whined and climbed onto his lap. To Jack's surprise, her body was quite warm. But then again, his blood's temperature was below freezing, anything would seem boiling hot to him.

"You are only aggressive when someone is afraid of you" he mumbled as his fingers combed through the silky mane. "You don't like it when... You don't like to be feared?"

His realization came out before he could even think it through properly. Was there anyone in this World who actually liked to be feared? Not the kind of fear that you can generate by yourself. The kind that you can do nothing about. When for everyone else it's just an instinct to be afraid of you.

Jack's gaze immediately swam to Pitch's form. He was created to be feared and thus hated.

But then again, there were the memories with that girl. The girl who didn't seem frightened at all.

"Do you know who she was? Why she wasn't afraid?" Jack just couldn't put the pieces together. So many things he had already seen, seemed to aim at showing him how much double-standards Pitch had to face and how he had the most torn personality he has ever seen.

That young Pitch was actually caring. Had he been not present that handful of people who actually lived would have stood in the middle of fire just to get warm and walked off of cliffs to get to the water sooner. In a way his existence was the biggest blessing for humankind. But then there came a change and he... his world twisted.

"She was... she was lonely..." the rasped voice took him so suddenly that Jack forgot about the mare in his lap and jumped up, causing the little creature to crash into the floor. She whined sadly before trotting over to her owner and cuddling up to his face.

"She was so lonely... Even a companion that could only bring fear comforted her..." Jack wasn't sure what caused Pitch's voice to break. The after effects of the fainting or the topic. "And she knew about me even before she met me. It just happened..."

"How?" Jack demanded. "How could she know about you? You were invisible to everyone, weren't you?"

"Not to everyone..." talking obviously pained him. "Not to those who believed in dark magic and such."

"You mean to tell me that the young, golden haired girl who I saw was a witch?" Frost couldn't help snorting. There was no way Pitch could make this sound reasonable.

"She wasn't. But her... mother was. Gothel didn't let my... she didn't let her out. She was so small, never felt the green grass under her feet and never ran across a field and never..."

Pitch somehow managed to sit up even though his head was pounding. He didn't trust the boy. He didn't want to tell him but he had to tell... he had to tell someone before it all crushed him on the inside. As he revealed some of his memories to Jack, he himself had to suffer the aftermath. Now that he let them out of their "cage" they wanted to come out. Wanted to be remembered.

"While other children listened to nighttime stories about fairies and love and hope and dreams, she got stories of the Boogeyman."

Silence hung in the air between them as Jack realized what that meant. So that girl might have believed in the Boogeyman but... welcome him more as a fairy tale character than someone who could bring her terrors?

"Rapunzel... she saw me, she saw me and she wasn't afraid..."


	6. Chapter 5

Hello, everyone! Here I am with the treat ^^ Next chapter, nice and warm. Let's make a pact! I have 11 reviews by now and yes, I can see how many readers I have. Leave me 5 reviews or no next chapter ;) I promise to write one hour after each and every comment ;) It's my motivation, you know. I'm fine with even a "Liked"/"hated" comment :P Just let me know that you actually read it.

Have fun all! :)

Chapter 5

The night brought some chill to the hot air which made it almost comfortable to take a walk. But the young girl who stared out into the evening sky didn't plan on going for a walk. In fact, she has never taken a walk in her entire 5 years.

Her life revolved around the tall tower which emerged in the middle of a secret valley deep in the forests. The World for her meant those few rooms she inhabited.

Though this didn't really please the small girl.

"Why can't I go outside?"

"The outside World is a dangerous place, filled with horrible selfish people" her mother explained. And little Rapunzel could feel some strange sensation clench at her tiny heart.

If her mother said so, then it must have been true. All she knew at the bright age of five that her beloved mother was the most beautiful woman on the whole planet. Gothel had raven hair with amazing curls in it, nothing like her pale and plainly straight yellow mess. She begged for her mother so many times to somehow make it as dark as hers was but she always refused.

"Oh darling, don't speak such nonsense" she would tease and delicately stroke her golden head. "Your hair is the most wondrous thing in you!"

Sometimes she had to chase away thoughts that maybe it wasn't such a compliment. Sometimes she felt like her mother was strange. Very strange, actually. Gothel would ask her to comb her hair at least five times a day and ordered her to keep it as clean as possible.

Once she dared to dip the ends of her hair into the washing basin while her mother was doing the laundry. The caustic soap immediately began to attack her delicate tangles. When her mother noticed what happened she became furious. She yelled at her and immediately picked her up from the floor to carry her to the bathing basin. Rapunzel has never felt anything as cold as the icy water Gothel dumped on her head. She didn't even took her clothes off! Her teeth were clattering as she endured the torturous process of her mother scrubbing every single inch of her already quite long hair. It didn't last longer than 5 minutes, though to Rapunzel it felt like ages.

But after Gothel made sure that her hair... that she was alright, she held her so close and almost wept as she cradled her daughter to her chest and told her how much she frightened her poor mother. Rapunzel only cuddled closer to her and promised not to risk anything like that again.

That night, after the incident as the sun was setting and Rapunzel was tucked into her bed she asked a very important question.

"Mommy, what does it mean to be frightened?"

"Let me see, darling" Gothel began to explain soothingly."Remember, when I told you about the Sand Man?"

"Yes" Rapunzel's eyes shone up. She loved the fairy tale about the small, funny man who brought the good dreams for children who behaved nicely.

"Well, fear is... " Gothel actually had to pause to decide what to tell her precious daughter. It only took a minute or so for her to recall every detail of the story she had heard almost a century before."My mother always told me that fear is... Fear is such a huge force that it must be controlled. Just like dreams by the Sand Man, fear is controlled by Pitch Black. A spirit who has to take care of everyone in this World."

"Is he a hero?" Rapunzel's eyes widened. Someone who takes care of everything and everyone must be a true hero!

"No darling, sadly people don't understand fear. Look at your little rabbit. Remember, when you dropped it a few weeks ago and its ear tore off?"

The little girl unconsciously held onto her friend more tightly. She couldn't even imagine going a day without Mr. Hopps. It was her third birthday present and she loved her cuddly, stuffed animal with all her heart.

"How did you feel when I told you that I might not be able to repair it?" her mother asked gently.

"I felt sad... And I felt something in my belly" she explained. "Like... like someone was holding it and squeezing it! Like it was an orange!"

"Now, darling, that uncomfortable feeling is fear. Today when I saw you playing in the washing water, that is exactly how I felt. Do you understand now?"

Rapunzel was quiet for awhile. Her mind had to process a lot but she was grabbing the basics of the whole.

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way" she blurted out finally.

"There, there, sweety" Gother tucked the blanket under the small child's arms. "There is a good part to being frightened and this is what people don't understand. When you are afraid of something that means it's really dangerous. For example, imagine that you are standing on a huge rock, do you know what would happen if you stepped forward into the deep?"

The little girl quickly freed her hands and made a downfall imitation with them while her mouth produced a whistling sound.

"Exactly" Gothel caressed her little chin. "You could hurt yourself. Imagine that every time you are about to do something dangerous, Pitch Black is standing right beside you and puts some fear into your heart. Not to see you feel so terrible, but to protect you from doing something harmful."

Rapunzel nodded as she finally understood who this mysterious Pitch Black could have been.

"Will you tell me a story about him? Like you did with the others, like Santa and that Bunny and the fairies."

Gothel rolled her eyes. Had she agreed to this she would have to be up all night, entertaining her little girl with endless stories of the Nightmare King.

"Tell you what" she joyfully pushed the tip of Rapunzel's nose. "You, young lady, go to sleep now and tomorrow, after you've helped me with the dishes, I'll tell you a story about him."

Rapunzel considered the pact and found it fair. She was eager to fall asleep now.

"Sleep tight, my glowing flower" Gothel shooed her as the little girl yawned. "Tomorrow, you'll get your story."

And the next day, she did. Then the next one, and the next one and so on. After the first tale all Rapunzel wanted to hear of was the mysterious boogeyman and his adventures. How he tamed his nightmares who showed children the dangers of the World. Even her mother got tired of the constant questions about the spirit after the weeks passed by. But the little girl's curiosity could not be fulfilled.

So on that particular evening when little Rapunzel asked why she couldn't go outside, fate guided a strange visitor to their tower.

Pitch walked slowly as the night sky darkened. He still had sometime before sending out his Nightmare hounds to find prey. He had been meaning to visit this place for a while now. A tingling sensation has been pulling him there for a few weeks now.

He could compare the sensation to the feeling of being believed in. Though the Dark Ages had been over for almost a century now, he could still recall the strength he gained from the believers. Now this sensation distinctly reminded him of that but it was much weaker. This wasn't such an surprising event. Some old people who were mere children when he embraced his full power, reminisced the old tales of the Boogeyman, from time to time. A few years ago that gave him hope that maybe they could plant the tales of him in their children's and grandchildren's head thus bringing him back to power but it didn't happen. These "modern" kids just brushed them off and went to play Knights and Princesses.

The second he saw the tower, he could feel his curiosity grow. He has seen many weird habits of the people ever since he had known them but this was something new. He has never seen anyone willingly choosing to live in an obviously door-less tower in the middle of a forest, so hidden from everyone.

His shadow creeped up round and round the tower's wall. To his surprise it was wider than it seemed at first. Looking inside the small cracks between the stones he realized that the narrow 'base' part of the building hid a staircase. So there must have been a door somewhere. He made sure to check it later.

The upper part however widened and windows appeared too. Looking into the first one he saw a bedroom rich in dark green colors. Pitch raised his borrow at the king size bed. How the hell did anyone bring that up into the tower?

The next window opened to a child's room. It wasn't smaller than the previous though nor that one had been too big. A small bed was packed with beautiful small gowns. Stuffed animals laid around. Whomever it belonged to, Pitch was sure was well loved. Or at least, well taken care of.

He swooped to the next one and finally saw what he had been looking for.

A woman sat in the middle of the room with a small girl in front of her. The child wore her night clothes. What Pitch found intriguing washer hair.

The girl's hair was so long that it must have been at least twice her height. Her mother delicately ran a comb through it again and again as if the knots were her mortal enemy. Pitch leaned on the windowsill and watched.

"Why can't I go outside?"

"The outside World is a dangerous place, filled with horrible selfish people."

"But there are so many things out there, that I want to see" she argued.

"Oh darling" Gothel giggled. "You wouldn't be able to live out there. You could hurt yourself and meet dangerous animals, or even fall into traps."

"But mom! Pitch Black would be there to tell me when to not do something!" in her heated controversy she turned around to face her mother. But her next words got stuck.

Golden eyes locked with purple ones. Rapunzel's mouth opened in wonder and without a word she sat back down. Humming filled the room.

Once again that night Pitch's mind went blank at the scene before him. The little child's hair began to glow and it lit up the whole room. Pitch Black blinked again and again. Now this was something he had to find out about.


	7. Chapter 6

Hey there Guys! :) Sorry, but the morning the fifth review arrived was the exact morning when I left for a little vacation. See what happens when you don't review soon? :P Remember, I see how many of you read each chapter everyday.

But okay, I realized that this is not working :) I won't make anymore requests for reviews. But it was quite nice to have 5 for one chapter.

Enough babling, here you go. And if you were wondering why I changed Rapunzel's eyes to purple... wait a little more and you'll find out ;D

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Chapter 6

"So she knew about you?" Jack's mouth hung open. His plans of escape, his fright and everything was blown out from his mind.

Pitch slumped back on the bed with closed eyes. He felt and looked so tired.

"She believed the tales. I wasn't just a frightening character to her, I was just as real to her as Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny."

This just didn't seem to fit. Children had been told about him too, but somehow they didn't believe in him.

"But people tell their children about me all the time and they still won't see me... how could she..."

"They don't tell children about you!" Pitch growled. "They say that 'Jack Frost will be nipping at their noses.' You are an expression, not a believable character. That's not the same."

"All right, all right" Jack pulled back a little. Fingers running through his hair he once again remembered who was in front of him. "You know it better, fine. But tell me the rest."

Pitch's eyes pierced his gaze. Obviously annoyed with the boy in the hoodie.

"Why would I?" he spat. "Are you really this stupid? Here's the perfect opportunity to run, instead you are just looking at me with no reasonable curiosity."

Jack laughed as he sat down on the hard ground. Quickly he tanged his legs under himself, nesting his hands in the pocket of his hoodie. He knew he was playing with fire. Who knows how many children was trembling in the dentist's chair or standing at the edge of the pool at their first attempt of learning to swim. He had absolutely no idea how much time Pitch needed to get up once more but to leave now was not possible. That's what you get once you make a three hundred years old teenage boy interested in a story.

"That's the thing about curiosity" his blue eyes glowed with playfulness. "You can't really say no to it."

Pitch nodded, he had to agree with the boy.

* * *

The second he realized that the girl saw him, really saw, him he disappeared. No more than the third time in his life he felt a cold hand clench at his own stomach. Which was more than disturbingly strange... Why would he inject fear into his own heart? - If that thing existed.

He reappeared a bit farther from the tower, when no one could spot him. Half of him wanted to see a small face looking out of the window, searching for him but nothing happened.

That girl saw him...

That small girl saw him and then sang...

There were so many thing wrong with this situation. None looked Fear himself in the eye and started singing. Especially not golden haired, magical little girls.

"What sick games are you playing, once again?" he looked up at his brother.

'**Talking to me again, ****_brother_****? Whatever happened to your wow?**' came a sad voice.

"Shut up!" he felt rage tugging at his side. "You know exactly why I don't want to talk to you. But what the hell was that, _brother_? What did you do to her?"

"**Why do you assume that I had anything to do with that?**"

Pitch knew it was Dante's doing somehow. There was no possible way that a small child could look upon him and not be frightened unless his dear sibling found yet another way to torment him.

"Wasn't the last time enough?!" he cried out desperately. "I swear I don't get you! That's not why we are here! If only I could go up there and kick your..."

"**Pitch, calm down! I had nothing to do with the girl. She found you all by herself... or mostly all by herself**" Dante's voice turned bittersweet. "**Her mother told her all about you. She's been asking for tales of you for weeks now. I had no idea why you hadn't checked sooner**."

"You are kidding me" he smirked. "Her mother tells her nighttime stories about the Boogeyman? What kind of parent would do that?"

"**Look, I don't know more than what I've told you already. She does, and Rapunzel listens. That's all there to tell.**"

Rapunzel, you say – Pitch looked up on the strange building once again as he stopped in his track. Well, he had some time to spare to go after this strange case.

An hour passed before he brought himself to go back to the window but by that time, the woman and her daughter were both gone, leaving the window open thanks to the heat. Pitch took the opportunity and sat on the windowsill. His right leg almost touched the living room's floor as he let it hang into the room.

He couldn't help feeling a bit anxious about what took place a while ago. He waited so long for someone to see him, to remember him, but to no avail. Now, that he had proof that someone recognized him, he didn't know what to do. After all it had been so long since he could actually face humans.

To pass the time he reached out and searched the two souls he could find. With closed eyes he leaned back against the window frame and let himself feel their worries and fears. Distinguishing between the grown up and her fears and between the child's was a piece of cake. The woman was afraid of loosing her daughter... normal thus far. But as he dug deeper he came upon some really strange pieces. The woman was afraid of being discovered? By whom? And why? Maybe the father of her daughter was after them?

He knew he could have concentrated more and try to make out the answers for his questions but truth to be told, as far as he cared the possibility of a threatening father was enough. The other person was the object of his interest.

Obvious to his surroundings Pitch turned all his attention to Rapunzel. The girl's fears were... Nonexistent. He almost fell from his seat. This girl... knew she wasn't supposed to touch a cooking bowl because it could be hot but – mostly because of previous and painful experience – she wasn't afraid of it anymore. She simply knew not to touch it. This pattern applied to a lot more experiences that were natural and he hadn't been bothering with them for a long time now. There were things that children had to be afraid of and had to learn how to avoid them. Once they did, their fear would be gone.

But this girl wasn't afraid of deep water. She wasn't afraid of heights. She wasn't afraid of slipping on ice or skinning her knees.

And all this because she never saw deep water or stood on the edge somewhere where she couldn't hold onto something. This girl never faced wild animals. This girl never saw anything frightening.

The only thing Rapunzel was afraid of was not being noticed by someone.

Pitch frowned. This didn't make sense. It was the middle of the night and such a thing was not usual for a dream. Could she be afraid of not being noticed by her mother? No, she was way too young for that type of fear. Of course, he has seen exceptions, but he could feel this was not the case now. This was a very definite fear of someone not noticing her. Someone like...

"Mister Boogeyman?" he felt a tug at his cape and his eyes snapped open.

Two purple eyes stared up at him, barely above his knee. How could he not notice the girl coming in?

"Your Majesty? All you all right?"

_Your Majesty?_ Who did she think he was? And how could he not notice that she was there? He still couldn't comprehend that.

"I'm not a king, child" he murmured, finally feeling like getting back in control.

"Yes you are, silly" the little girl giggled and let go of his robes. "Mom said you are the Nightmare King! With a huge kingdom and lots and lots of servants. Who look like dogs."

"Hounds" Pitch corrected her. "They look like hounds."

Okay, this was a 5 years old girl who possessed no fears so all he was capable of seemed useless in her presence. Surely he could cope with the situation.

* * *

"So, she saw you, and you couldn't scare her" Jack's mouth literally hung open.

"Precisely" the tired spirit nodded. "So that's how I met that girl and that's who she was. I hope you feel satisfied now, be gone."

Obviously, he considered the pact to be fulfilled on his part and had no desire to continue. But Jack wouldn't have had it. This was nowhere near the whole story and he simply had to know.

"But... she was much older than five in the memories I saw! C'mon Pitch, you can't leave me hanging!"

"It's none of your business!" the Nightmare King growled.

Frost was so close to begging that he actually began to fiddle with the hem of his hoodie. He could feel his own curiosity, it made his whole skin itch. Like an excited toddler, he simply had to know, to imagine, to understand.

"Please, I already know a little about North's human life and... and I'm planning on finding out about everyone else's. I couldn't get to know to any of you in the past 300 years" babbling, he had to babble. Adorable, babbling teenagers could make the sky turn pink if they wanted. The only problem was that he was talking to the only creature on Earth who could not be tempted by puppy eyes.

With a sigh Pitch closed his eyes. Had he the strength the boy would have been torn to pieces by now. He was sure that there was a bit of masochism in Frost. None dared to annoy him so much and especially about such delicate matters. Faintly, he could hear the boy going on and on as he tried to concentrate on his own thoughts.

"If you told me, maybe I could help you somehow. Your brother seemed so nice to you and you hate him! And the Nightmare-creatures? Why are do they look like horses now if they started out as dogs?" not paying much attention to his surroundings Jack began to pace around the chamber. "And those dark ages... everyone's always mentioning that but how come your brother let you rule for so long and then suddenly take everything away? I mean, it's easy to deduce that he had the power to stop you from the beginning but he didn't... why? And that girl had to do something terrible to you, otherwise you would have never..."

The laughter filled the room so suddenly that Jack jumped to the ceiling in his surprise. Having a heart attack mid thinking was not something anyone would appreciate.

The icy boy stood as he watched the other spirit's body shaking with fits of laughter.

"You really are an air-headed teenage boy, aren't you, Frostie?" Pitch actually had to wipe away the tears. "She _had to do something terrible to me? _For heavens, how old are you? Eleven?"

"I'm... uhm..." Jack did feel uncomfortable at that. What the other one laughed about seemed so uncertain to him.

"Dear boy, you are more lost than I've ever been" finally his laughing fist died down and Pitch relaxed with a devilish grin on his face. "Do you have any idea what a woman can do to a man?"

Silently, Jack shook his head. Even though Pitch was obviously amused about his non existing experiences, at least he finally got the older one to talk. That almost made up for being mocked.

"Quite amusing. I'd imagine if today's teenage girls could see you they'd be swooning all around you. Well, Rapunzel was not that kind" once again closing his eyes as he accepted the fact that he was going to tell the boy the story, Pitch took a deep breath. "Or she didn't become that kind thanks to her mother, trying to keep her as far from the World as possible. Little did she know that there was someone who would take her out at night, show her everything there was to be seen."

"You befriended her?" Jack lowered himself on the ground and tangled his long legs under himself.

"In a way. She interested me in the beginning. That night I left her. I couldn't make out what to do with her but she made me promise that I'd come back to her. Whatever reason a five years old girl could have for wanting me back as a visitor..."

"So you went back the next night?"

"No. I went back to her after a week."


	8. Chapter 7

The inspiration bug bit me ^^ (Or we are jst arriving to the part that I've been waiting for since this whole story started.) Anyways, here is a new chapter and now I'm going back to writing more :P

Oh, one more thing: nothing belongs to me from either stories.

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Chapter 7

Little feet paddled on the wooden floor around Pitch as the girl danced around his sitting form.

The Nightmare King and his new 'puzzle' were in the living area of the tower. The spirit occupied the chair which had been mostly used by Gothel when she was combing through Rapunzel's hair. Watching his little companion circling around him with a determined expression was more than amusing. Determined, as a five years old girl can be...

"Okay, so... How does the grass feel like?" the child blurted out finally.

"Have you ever stepped on the edge of that long hair of yours?" Pitch asked back without hesitation. "It's kinda like the same. Grass caresses your toes once you step on them. Feels soft and well... crispy. Sometimes crispy."

The girl excitedly ran beside the chair and let herself fall on her butt. Quickly grabbing some of her own hair she let the end of it fall over her bare feet first, then purposely stepped on it.

"Of course, grass would actually stand a bit more stiffly against your skin, not bend like your hair" Pitch added as he studied her face. Blonde hair, blonde eyebrows, purple eyes. He has seen this before, just couldn't grasp where.

"Uh-uhm... No, sorry, this does not really answer my question" Rapunzel concluded with a troubled wrinkle of her nose. "It's my turn again."

"Absolutely no way!" Pitch groaned. She used this very same excuse for the fifth time in a row.

It was his idea to play this little game. Changing turns they would answer each other's questions and while he was trying to find out what exactly this fearless creature was, Rapunzel was trying to know how the World... well, worked.

He was quite surprised at some of her questions though. The last one in particular was one of the more mature ones. When he heard her first question he thought that maybe if he came back a few _years_ later, that would have proved to more avail, but by now, he couldn't get away.

After asking if the air really didn't taste like anything and if rain was actually the sky crying the little girl began to show some improvement which led to these grass-type questions.

So far Pitch only discovered that she has never left the tower and had no idea if there was a way out at all. Her eyes, have indeed, always been purple and her hair was glowing upon singing that particular little rhyme. Apparently it had the ability to heal. Or as the girl put it, it kissed the pain away in her scars, if she had any and always made mother look so amazingly beautiful.

'_The more I try to know about her, the more questions there is'_ Pitch thought to himself, getting more and more annoyed about the unanswered questions.

"Okay, fine" Rapunzel pouted. "Ask, but quickly. I wanna know how birds fly!"

Chuckling, Pitch decided that he was in a generous mood and answered. The girl was simply endearing even to him.

"Birds have hollow bones and feathers. The wind carries their light bodies, that's how they fly. Now, when you sing that..."

"Can I grow feathers?" she jumped to her feet suddenly. Like the whole universe turned into new lightning. "My hair grows very, very quickly. Maybe I could grow feathers too? Then I could go out and see everything!"

Pitch immediately thought of the young Tooth. The feathery fairy could be Rapunzel's most envied person if she ever knew that such spirit existed. Quickly wiping the though from his head he looked down into the hopeful little eyes.

"I'm sorry, little one. It's not possible for you."

Much to his own surprise he felt a small 'pang' in his chest as tears welled up beside the purple eyes. Bravely trying to hide her sadness the girl tried to wipe them away but within seconds her shoulders were shaking.

This was an occurrence that Pitch had no idea what to do with. Due to lack of better plan he put his hand on the girl's hair and gently stroked it. His eyes widened as after such little encouragement Rapunzel darted for his leg and hugged it almost painfully tight. His gaze softened as he realized how lonely this small child has been all her short life.

"There, little one" he shooed as best as he could. This all felt so alien to him, none ever needed his comforting. "Why would you need feathers? You are..."

Struggling, what did little girls like to hear when they were sad? He knew what they _didn't_ but that's not what he wanted right now.

"You are already so beautiful, feathers couldn't possibly improve you" there, the perfect ending.

"I just thought... Maybe if I could fly I could go out..." Rapunzel confessed and wiped her nose on Pitch's cape. Much to the spirit's horror. Snot... Snot on his cape... Snot! Swallowing hard, he fought the urge to gag and shout at the girl for doing such disgusting act. "And I could always come back so mom wouldn't be angry at me. I don't want her to be angry. I just want one more friend. Because then I would have you and somebody else to talk to when it's daytime."

Looking up at the spirit, she tightened her hug a bit more.

"Because we are friends, right?"

Pitch heard so much hope in her voice that he could only nod instead of telling her that he had no idea, since he has never had a friend before.

* * *

Jack Frost hummed as he processed yet another piece of the big picture. Okay, so once, long ago Pitch was capable of not destroying everything he saw. Quite the deal.

"So, I assume you went back to her" he concluded.

"Genius deduction" came the sarcastic answer.

"Okay, and what about her questions? Did she get answers to everything?"

Scratching behind his ear and rearranging some of his own white hair, Jack reminded Pitch of a lost puppy once again. In ways he could almost see some resemblance between the curious little girl, Rapunzel used to be, and the teenage boy who was annoying him right now. Annoying and listening...

"She did. I returned, in the beginning, just once or twice a week. Sometimes I didn't even visit her for a week. But somehow I always ended up going back to her" Pitch reminisced. "It soon became a habit. A year passed by and day by day she grew bolder. She would draw little sketches of me and hid them from her mother. She let me teach her about the World and always asked for stories and I always left her before dawn. Then on her sixth birthday I gave her something that led to a whole set of new legends."

Jack held his breath. This was getting more and more interesting.

* * *

As night fell over the meadow and the candle in Gothel's room was put out, Pitch's shadow quickly climbed the side of the building. As always the window was left open, even though it wasn't necessary.

Out of habit he asked himself why had he returned and upon not finding an answer once again, he formed in the middle of the room. For weeks, Rapunzel has been going on and on about her birthday. He was positive that she would appear any second now.

The piddle-paddle of feet hit his ears soon as the small body hurried down the stairs. Instead of wearing her usual white nightgown, this time Rapunzel wore a midnight blue princess dress. He knew that she had been begging her mother for one.

"Well, look at that" he smiled flashing his teeth at the girl. How she didn't fear him was beyond him, even after all this time. "What a wonderful little princess we have here."

Blushing and giggling she made a whole turn to show her dress off to Pitch as she continued her way to him. Barely avoiding tripping over her own hair. In the past year it grew way more than what was natural. By now it was twice the height of the girl.

"Look what mom made me!" she muttered in awe. "It's blue! And it fits and I even got shoes to match it!"

Proudly poking out her little foot under the hem of the skirt she presented the matching blue leather footwear.

"It even has a small heel!" she pointed. "It's almost like mommy's big girl shoes."

"Amazing" Pitch smiled as he lowered himself to her level. "Happy birthday, little one."

"You remembered'" whit a huge grin she threw her arms around the spirit's neck and hugged him. It was no surprise for him anymore though the first few times he was honestly taken aback by her embraces.

"You hardly let me forget. Now tell me, what would you like for this very special occasion?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer. Rapunzel has been nagging him about it for a whole month now.

Judging by her expression, he was well aware that the girl realized that she was getting just what she has been asking for. Excitedly she stomped on her own legs, almost rocking herself.

"Will you take me outside?" the tentative whisper left her mouth.

Standing up, Pitch reminded himself to declare the rules. He has been arguing about this with her since the first time the question's been raised. Of course, he was capable of protecting her but she has never been outside and true to be told, a cold shiver ran down his spine every time he thought that it's inevitable that once they were outside he'd have to frighten her. For the first time in his life he didn't want to see fear in a child's eye and feel the strength draining from her to him.

"Yes, little one, I'll take you out" he began pacing around her. "But you must promise me a few things."

"Sure" the girl sat down on her little stool as she watched and listened. Even though she tried to sit still, she couldn't help wriggling. This was going to be so much fun!

"First of all, tonight we are not leaving this meadow. You won't leave my side and most importantly, you won't go anywhere near the trees, alright?" seriousness taunted his voice. He had his doubts about this little affair. "The second thing, if you feel anything strange. Scared or anything you tell me that instant."

"But Pitch, you'll know. You told me you can feel when I'm afraid or something."

"Yes, and I've also told you that the fear you've felt so far has nothing to do with actual horrors you _could_ feel" he reminded her. "I have never had the chance to inflict real fear upon you. There's always been someone to calm you and you never had to look fear in the eye."

Giggling, she eyes her tall friend.

"I'm looking you in the eye right now."

"Very funny" Pitch rolled his golden orbs. "You must promise me, little one. I know what I'm capable of and truth to be told I..."

_'I don't want you to know'_ he finished the sentence in his own head. There was no need to say it out loud. Even though Rapunzel didn't grasp his exact reasons, his behavior was enough to make her aware of the seriousness of the situation.

"I promise I'll do everything as you say" Rapunzel nodded. Standing up as a proper lady she made sure that not a single wrinkle crossed the fabric of her dress. "Can we go now?"

Silently Pitch stood beside her and reached down.

"Hold onto my neck and don't let go until I say so!"

Who would have thought that protecting someone from his own self was so hard work? With the girl in his arms he walked over to the window and opened it as wide as he could. This time he could not take his shadow form. He didn't dare to risk it with the girl in his arms.

He could feel the tiny arms fasten a bit more around his neck but the girl's expression was full of excitement and not terror. Carefully he climbed onto the windowsill and gently began to lower themselves.

Rapunzel wanted to laugh, to scream, to shout. Wind caressed her face freely. Not just a little blow of air which wandered through the window, but actual wind. Like silk playing with her cheeks. Even though the sky was dark, the moon cast a silvery gloom all over the clearing. As soon as they hit the ground she let go of Pitch's neck and could barely wait for him to put her down.

Slowly the spirit lowered her on the ground and for the first time in her life, she could feel the grass under her shoes. Without hesitation she bent down and unfastened them to step on the ground barefoot.

"How do you like it?"

Rapunzel's mouth hung open as her eyes reflected with the moonlight. The wind's voice in her ears sounded like a very soft and ancient lullaby. As it passed between the trees she could almost understand its speech.

Oh and the smells. They were so much stronger than what she could feel from the tower. The ground, the old trees, the moss on their sides welcomed her without question.

"**You made her happy**" Dante's voice sounded in his mind. "**But so you think that this was a wise decision?**"

"Don't spoil it for her, just shine" Pitch almost growled, but most of his attention was focused on the girl taking her first careful steps. She got bolder and bolder with every second.

As he commanded, Dante shone as bright as he could on his brother and his little friend, almost making it appear if the meadow was lit with broad daylight.

"Come" Pitch gestured for the girl and began walking with her. "We don't have much time and I want to show you something else."

Curiously, Rapunzel followed him a bit farther from the tower. The Nightmare King explained his plan as they walked side by side.

"I want to give you something else. You remember the hounds I told you about, right?"

"Of course" this day couldn't get any better. If she got to see those mysterious nightmare creatures too then it would be her most amazing birthday ever. No, not only her most amazing birthday. The most amazing birthday in the history of all time. She had no doubts about that.

"I'd like you to meet one of them, if you can see him" Pitch had his doubts. Seeing him was one thing, seeing his hounds was entirely different. "I choose one who can't really scare you. I'd say he's one of the first fears and child would meet in her life. Even you dreamt with him. But just to make sure, you are not afraid of sudden sounds anymore, are you?"

Rapunzel shook her head. How old did he think she was, three? Sure, when she was little some sudden sounds could make her cry but by now she knew that when a pot fell down there was no harm in it.

"Alright then" Pitch whistled and on the edge of the trees, out from the shadows, a hound formed. "Come, boy."

Following his Master's order, the dog darted for the two people and stopped a few steps away from them. He was almost as tall as the girl beside him. Pitch didn't even have to ask if Rapunzel saw the dog.

"Woah" eyes as huge as a plate she eyed the animal. "He is made of sand?"

"Not..." thinking about how to clarify the basics of dream sands Pitch gave up the idea of correcting her. "Yes, a very special kind of dark sand."

"Can I pet him?"

Shaking his head, pitch kneeled down to the level of his two companions. He knew that the dog wouldn't attack the girl unless he commanded.

"You can but please bear in mind that when you touch him, you'll hear something" he knew what effect the hound would have on the girl. "It'll only last a minute and then it'll go away."

"Okay."

The hound eyed the small child's hand as it reached for him. The master never let anyone touch them before. They were commanded to follow some people, but to be touched by them. It almost felt like an honor.

The second her fingertips touched the sandy fur, Rapunzel heard the most intense sound ever. A fork being pulled on the bottom of an old, empty pan. A huge book falling down on the ground. A slightly startled scream. So many of them at once that she couldn't even make out most of them. Goosbumps roose on her arms and back. It was nearly unbearable. The pressure in her ears only hightened, reaching apoint where it almost hurt.

Just about when she was sure her ears would simply fall off her head, it was over.

"Are you okay, little one?" Pitch asked. The girl's hand was now buried in the fur of the hound. She seemed a bit shaken but generally okay.

"It was... strange. But I'm fine" Rapunzel concluded and flashed him a small smile. "But I like him."

"Good" Pitch nodded. He wasn't enterily sure that she was as fine as she thought but no permanent harm had been done. "I would like you to have him, so to say. If you need me, you can call on him."

The girl got more and more caught up in scratching the animal's body. After giving a good rub to his back, she began to caress the face. Pure bliss was written over the hound'sfeatures. He loved this girl. None ever touched them except for the master.

"Whenever you need me, you can just call his name. He will find me and bring me too you, you understand?"

"And what's his name?" the child laughed as she received a lick from the dog.

"He's Sound" Pitch grinned. Naming his dogs has always been easy. Always grabbing the essence of them. "And he will answer your calls, but you must have a shadowy point wherever you are, or he won't be able to come. Neither can I. If you want to see us, you always need to close the curtains."

Memorizing the facts Rapunzel once again turned to the spirit.

"Thank you, Pitch. This is the best birthday ever."

"I'm glad, little one" he smiled. "But come now, we must get you back. Enough excitement for our little princess."

"But you'll bring me out here again sometimes, right?" she asked hopefully.

"We will talk about it."

Dante, who was, watching the whole time had to chuckle. He knew who the girl was. He knew about the flower and her true family. Ever since Pitch began to visit her, Dante has been wondering if he should tell his brother. He figured that Pitch would find out if it was important.

Even though he found it a bit strange for the spirit to have a human friend, he could see no harm in it as long as the girl didn't possess any fears. As much as it seemed impossible, he could see, that his dark brother cared for this little human. A slight feel of guilt passed over him.

Before the Dark Ages, Pitch begged him for someone to have as a companion, but he was so caught up in his own plans and creatures that he would deny his own brother a physical friend. In a way, he was to blame for Pitch getting so out of hand and destroying half of the World by inflicting fear upon every breathing creature. He was lonely and bored. Which was no excuse, but still, if he had someone to talk to...

But what happened had been done and none could change it now. Dante saw as Pitch led the girl up into her own room and said his goodbye. He hasn't seen him so content for the past century, all thanks to this little girl.


End file.
